College Shorts

Student Opinion Split on Homecoming Shirts (The Amherst Student)

A provocative t-shirt distributed at Amherst’s homecoming weekend last week has reignited controversy surrounding sexual assault on its campus, coming in the wake of an open letter written by a sexual assault victim, Angie Epifano, printed in the school’s student newspaper on Oct. 17.

As an effort to keep campus-wide conversation alive in response to Epifano’s letter, a group of students handed out t-shirts to students and alumni in attendance at the homecoming athletic events. The front of the shirt features Lord Jeff, Amherst’s mascot, gripping a broom in one hand and lifting a rug, accompanied by the words, “Amherst: Sweeping Sexual Assault Under the Rug since 1821.” The back of the shirt reads, ‘Silence has the rusty taste of shame. We will be silent no more. Demand zero tolerance for sexual violence now.’

A petition was circulated alongside the t-shirts calling for the administration to undertake greater initiatives to prevent sexual assault on campus. The students handing out the t-shirts expressed fear that meaningful progress would cease as soon as media coverage surrounding Epifano’s open letter dies down, and hoped that the t-shirts would keep discussion alive.

 

Oil Dialogue at UVM Dissolves into Disruption (Burlington Free Press)

On Nov. 14, University of Vermont students affiliated with Rising Tide Vermont, interrupted a presentation at the UVM campus by Olav Ljosne, senior manager of international operations for multinational petroleum giant Royal Dutch Shell.

Ljosne was speaking on a panel discussion titled ‘Big Oil in the Niger Delta,” during which he was joined by two co-panelists, UVM Professor of Political Science Greg Gause and Visiting Professor at the UVM Law School Benjamin Sovacool, who manages Vermont Law School’s Energy Security and Justice Program.

Rising Tide Vermont is a climate justice organization based out of Burlington, VT. Nine activists stood up throughout Ljosne’s presentation, rendering it impossible for him to speak.

The activists shared testimonies of Nigerians living in the delta to protest Shell’s role in the destruction of Nigerian ecosystems and communities through its extraction activity and relationships with Nigeria’s various military dictatorships.

The protestors left the room after finishing their remarks, followed by members of the audience as well as some of the presenters. The event was postponed and the police were called, though no arrests were made.